COLOR BLINDNESS: THE NEW RACISM

Sitting in a classroom consisting of mostly white students with a white teacher, senior Giovanni Salazar, a Mexican American, feels out of place. During class, the teacher constantly interacts with the white students. Salazar raises his hand, but the teacher fails to recognize him. In addition, Salazar realizes the teacher consistently ignores other Latino students as well.

Senior Ally Yoshioka, a Japanese American, often feels like she is objectified by men because of her ethnicity. Men constantly flirt with her and make sexual comments. When she is with her white friends, she said they constantly treat her with less respect and make racist jokes. She said this also occurred during middle school when one of her teachers repeatedly flirted with her and invited her to watch samurai movies at his home.

Sophomore Chidube Egbo, an African American, is the victim of unrelenting jokes because he is black. It has reached the point where he feels uncomfortable with the color of his skin.

“People say that [racism occurred] a long time ago and that it’s over,” Egbo said. “There have been improvements, but we still aren’t done. We aren’t even close to being done.”

Today, a subtle form of racism has developed from a belief that not recognizing racial differences is a way to show acceptance. This idea of color blindness was originally seen as a way to combat racism. However, now it has become a way to deny the struggles minorities face, according to art teacher Ezra Ereckson. Three years ago, Ereckson started an Equity Team at Glencoe, which focuses on celebrating diversity and creating racial equity. Color blindness comes from a noble impulse, Ereckson said, but is actually harmful because it removes the recognition of the different experiences that different races go through.

According to English teacher Bill Huntzinger, who is also an Equity Team member, color blindness makes the assumption that everyone, regardless of race, has equal opportunity to succeed although that is not the case.

Ereckson said when people begin to ignore race and say that everyone is the same, it becomes a way to avoid discussing the structures, including those in Glencoe, that affect racial minorities.

This idea of color blindness, according to Egbo, has made some people unable to see the struggles that racial minorities still face today.

His parents have taught him to be careful so that he that he is seen as non-threatening. He must not wear hoodies, not run in stores, and not sound uneducated when he talks. His race is an identity that shapes his everyday activities and behavior. This is something that white people do not normally think about, but for non-whites it is unavoidable. Egbo wants others to recognize that his experience as an African American is fundamentally different from white Americans.

Salazar also wants people to recognize what Latinos experience with racism. He feels that the school has been successful in embracing Hispanic culture with the bilingual immersion program. However, he also feels some teachers are still not treating Latino students the same as white students. This imbalance of attention leaves Latino students without the same personalized attention. Salazar said he has had experiences like this throughout his years in school. This led him to believe that nobody cared about him or other Latino students.

Salazar’s experience illustrates how racism and prejudice are embedded in institutions, such as education. This pattern of favoring certain groups creates a problem in which some students are not given an equal opportunity to succeed because they do not receive the same attention as other students. However, this system can be challenged by an individual who decides to reach out.

When English teacher Layton Fishback became supportive of him and helped him pursue his dream of becoming a teacher, it set him on a path to college that he never seriously considered until then.

“Nobody tells you that you can do anything,” Salazar said. “[But] she believed in me when nobody else would.”

This kind of support can have a profound effect on people, such as Salazar, who have faced a lifetime of prejudice.

Ereckson said that past social structures, such as segregation and slavery, have ramifications that have put minorities at a disadvantage that has been compounded for centuries. Without solutions that directly counter this disadvantage, these differences only get worse over time. When people do not address or correct the issues, these problems continue to exist even if people cease to acknowledge them.

Color blindness, according to Egbo, is not something people should aspire to if they want to solve the issue of racism. It requires recognition and a dialogue to solve a problem.

“Not talking about an issue does nothing to solve it. Talking about the issue helps people understand it and helps people get to the point where people are able to advocate for other people,” Egbo said.

Huntzinger's said he sees a divide among students about the issue of racism. While some students are eager and willing to start a dialogue, other students feel uncomfortable talking about race.

Although the discussion of race may make people uncomfortable, Ereckson urges people to start that discussion.

“We have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable if we want anything to change,” Ereckson said.

Egbo said minority students have countless experiences with racism, and that none of them are the same. Listening and understanding students’ struggles with racism is the first step to stop color blindness.

“Listen to the stories that people have to say. Listen and realize they are different than your own. If you don’t understand, please ask,” Egbo said.

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